Question : The classical experimental design, which serves as a prototype for our discussion : 2153829

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

1) The classical experimental design, which serves as a prototype for our discussion of all other research designs, contains three elements; equivalence, pretests and posttests, and experimental and control groups.

2) Experimental designs (sometimes called true experimental designs) are characterized by random assignment to treatment and control groups and include the classical, posttest-only control group, and Solomon four-group designs.

3) Quasi-experimental designs do not use random assignment of groups and instead employ matching or other means of obtaining equivalence of groups. Quasi-experimental designs include time-series and counterbalanced designs.

4) Pre-experimental designs lack any equivalence of groups and include one- and two-group ex post facto and one-group before-after designs.

5) Classic experimental design refers to the attempt to select and assign subjects to experimental and control groups in such a manner that they are as similar as possible.

6) Equivalence serves as a prototype for all other research designs and contains three elements: equivalence, pretests and posttests, and experimental and control groups.

7) Matching is the random assignment of subjects from a similar population to one or another group.

8) Randomization deals with assuming equivalence by selecting subjects on the basis of matching certain characteristics such as age, sex, and race.

9) Experimental group is the group that is exposed to stimuli or experimental arrangements.

10) Control group is the group that is not exposed to treatment.

11) The Solomon four-group design (Solomon, 1949) is viewed by some as the purest of research designs.

12) Research designs that lack one or two of the three major elements of experimental designs—equivalence or experimental and control groups—are designated as pre-experimental designs.

13) The two-group ex post facto design is an example of a longitudinal design.

14) The one-group before-after design, or one-group pretest-posttest design, eliminates possible pretest reactivity by studying both an experimental and a control group after the experimental group has been exposed to some treatment.

15) Dualistic fallacy is the assumption that prisoners (who are assumed to represent all criminals) and the general population (who are assumed to represent all criminals) are mutually exclusive groups.

16) Cross-sectional studies are studies of the same group over a period of time and generally are studies of change.

17) Longitudinal designs involve studies of one group at one time and usually refer to a representative sample of this group.

18) Time-series designs measurement of a single variable at successive points in time.

19) Interrupted time-series designs can then be defined as an analysis of a single variable measured at many successive time points, with some measures taken prior to a treatment (interruption) and others taken after the treatment.

20) A distinction is also made between multiple interrupted time-series designs, which examine one group or site's preprogram and post-program outcomes over time, and single interrupted time-series designs, which contrast one group's performance with that of relevant comparison groups.

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.

21) The problem of ________ has been a subject of continuing philosophical discussion, but scientific investigation is based on the a priori assumption that the fundamental nature of reality can be known—that causation lies at the basis of reality.

22) The three essential steps in resolving the causality problem are demonstrate that a relationship exists between the key variables, specify the time order of the relationship, and ________.

23) ________ is a false relationship that can be explained away by other variables.

24) ________ are any variables other than X (the treatment) that may be responsible for the relationship.

25) ________ refers to accuracy or correctness in research. Internal factors question the internal validity of research, whereas external factors impugn the external validity of findings.

26) ________ refers to other specific events that may have taken place during the course of the study and may have produced the results.

27) ________ refers to biological or psychological changes in the respondents during the course of study that are not due to the experimental variable.

28) ________ (pretest bias) refers to the bias and foreknowledge introduced to respondents as a result of having been pretested.

29) ________ involves changes in the measuring instrument from the beginning or first period of evaluation to the second, later, or final evaluation.

30) ________ is the tendency of groups that have been selected for study on the basis of extreme high or low scores to regress or move toward the mean or average on second testing.

31) ________ occurs when the researcher chooses nonequivalent groups for comparison.

32) ________ is the loss of subjects over the course of time.

33) ________ is a combination of errors introduced by selection bias plus the differential maturation of groups.

34) ________ point to the tendency of pretests to destroy the naiveté of respondents with respect to the variable(s) being studied and decrease or more predictably increase the subjects' awareness or sensitivity, thus complicating the ability to generalize their responses to a larger population that has not been pretested.

35) ________ are intended to manage or control the problem of multiple-treatment inference, in which X1 refers to one treatment, X2 a second, X3 a third, and X4 a fourth.

ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.

36) Discuss the three essential steps in resolving the causality problem.

37) Discuss the three general types of experimental designs.

38) Compare and contrast the one-group before-after design and the two-group ex post facto design.

39) What advantage does a time-series design have over a simple before-after design? Give an illustration and explain.

40) Discuss the Provo and Silverlake experiments.